


Floating

by ShdwBkr



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-14
Updated: 2016-06-14
Packaged: 2018-07-15 00:20:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7197503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShdwBkr/pseuds/ShdwBkr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mr. Gold, Neal, and Emma go on a camping/float trip for his 50th birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Floating

**Author's Note:**

> Lost my glasses on a recent float trip, inspired this. I don't know anything about floating or camping up north, so for the purposes of this story either Storybrooke is in Arkansas, or rivers in Maine are very similar to southern rivers. Whichever.
> 
> I don't write often, so any criticism is more than welcome. It's also my first foray into Swanfire (or any Emma or Neal), so if characterization is off let me know. Thanks.

It wasn't so bad, Emma thought. Neal had convinced her to go on a three day long camping trip, complete with floating and s'mores and roasting weenies over a campfire. He'd neglected to mention the mosquitos or face-meltingly-hot in the day plummet to damn-near-freezing at night or the hell that was sleeping on the ground, but Emma could've looked passed all that. 

He'd also neglected to mention that the trip was for his dad's 50th birthday, until just after she accepted. Judging by his too-wide grin and furrowed brow he knew exactly what he'd done, but she couldn't exactly say 'no' at that point, could she? Well, she _could_ have, but she didn't. And the whole 'meeting the parent' thing that she'd put off for months was staring her in the face.

He'd warned her about his dad ('He's kind of known as the town asshole... he's a great guy though, seriously!') but he really wasn't so bad, she supposed. Kind of quiet, a bit moody judging from his seemingly permanent frown, and a bit uneasy around her, which tended to come out as overly formal (her plan was to get him from 'Miss Swan' to 'Emma' by the end of the trip, somehow). She didn't mind, honestly. With her history, being leery around strangers was her default mode as well, though she veered more toward the antagonistic. Considering that, she could look past his little quirk of calling his son's girlfriend 'Miss'. And the weird aversion to his first name.

Once Neal's dad had been met, the tents set up, and the sunscreen applied, she'd made it to the part of the trip she'd been half-dreading, half-looking forward to: the floating.

“You seem nervous, Miss Swan.” Emma realized she'd been staring at the large green canoe with a little more suspicion than it probably warranted and forced her face to relax.

“I've never been on a river before. It's just... different, I guess. Don't want to do something wrong and flip us or something.”

Neal laughed, “Don't worry about _that_! Flipping is half the fun for a newbie, right dad?”

Gold shook his head. “Don't listen to the boy. Neal's been down this river probably a hundred times, and he's not flipped that old beast in a long while.” He nodded towards the canoe, neon green except a few scuffs along the hull. “And if he flips you on purpose, I'll box his ears for you, don't worry.”

Neal rolled his eyes. “Flipping isn't the end of the world. But I _guess_ I can be persuaded to avoid it, on pain of ear-boxing.”

“How are you on swimming, anyway? Neal said you were a strong swimmer, but if you've never been on a river...”

“The, uh... the group home I was in. They had an agreement with the local city pool. Free swim lessons and pool passes for the kids.”

Gold nodded but didn't ask for clarification, leading her to assume that Neal had mentioned her past to his dad. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, but now wasn't the time to dwell on it. “Well, it's the same basic concept, just watch out for the undertow. And avoid going under trees unless you particularly like poisonous snakes falling on your head. And keep an eye out for--”

“Okay, dad! She gets it.” Emma realized her mouth had fallen open and quickly clamped it shut, then turned to glare at Neal.

“You didn't mention _snakes_.”

“For a good reason. I know you're terrified of them, and they're easy enough to avoid. Plus, I mean, we're out here in the middle of nature, it's kind of snake territory. I was afraid you'd figure out it before now, to be honest. But as long as you stay in the water, you're fine.”

“Well, except for--”

“Dad!” Gold crossed his arms and glanced away with a huff, prompting Neal to roll his eyes again. “C'mon, let's just get going. If we take any longer getting on the river we're gonna have to haul ass to make it to the take-out before dark. And _that_ is something I would like to avoid.”

Emma was directed to the front seat, where she waited for Neal to push the canoe into the water and hop in himself. She glanced over to Gold situating himself and his gear into his own kayak.

“Hey Gold, what's the deal with the whole 'river tourist' get up, anyway?”

Gold glanced down at the binoculars and camera on lanyards around his neck and the backpack stowed in his lap. “Well, Miss Swan, I for one like to sight see a bit while floating. The visor is, obviously, because of the sun. And I have the backpack so that when you two inevitably flip, our sandwiches will remain dry.”

“But you said...”

Gold just shrugged and paddled off. She turned to look at Neal, smirking behind her. He winked. “Don't worry Emma, I won't do it any time soon. It's not as much fun if you're expecting it.” 

++++++++++

Floating was actually pretty fun, Emma decided. She and Neal had managed to flip, but she had to admit she was more at fault for that than he was. Throwing your entire weight onto the far side a canoe to grab an errant paddle was, it turned out, the opposite of what you were supposed to do. She was borderline mortified once she popped up, spluttering and spitting river water, but Neal was laughing, and Gold just shook his head and chuckled as he swooped in to grab their loose paddles and dry bags, and it helped set her at ease. 

They'd stopped a few hours in for sandwiches on a gravel bar (far away from any trees), and had each taken a few slugs of scotch from a liter of scotch Gold had stashed in his bag. With the gentle breeze blowing off the river, the sun peaking behind a stark white cloud, a full belly, and a slight tipsiness, the day was going pretty damn well.

“Hey, what's going on over there? Emma, steer us over, 'k?”

Emma turned toward where Neal was pointing and saw a lone woman sitting forlornly in a pink kayak hauled up onto a gravel bar maybe 100 yards away. “Got it.”

“Dad, we're gonna see if she needs help, alright?”

Gold grunted in acknowledgement, then pulled up alongside them. He squinted toward the figure, then seemed to do a double take. He pulled up his binoculars to get a closer view, then dropped them suddenly and began paddling in earnest towards the woman, easily clipping past them. Emma turned towards Neal in confusion, but he shrugged, seemingly as puzzled by his dad's behavior as she was. 

By the time they made it to the shore, Gold was already out of his kayak and talking to the woman, a very small brunette in blue trunks and a yellow bikini top, whose pale skin was halfway to an unpleasant burn by the looks of things. And she was _grinning_ at Gold. From the way Neal described things, there were very few people in town who didn't actively hate his dad, and even fewer who would take any kind of joy at being near him. Either this woman wasn't a local, she was very desperate indeed, or Neal wasn't quite as privy to his dad's life as he liked to believe.

“Uh, Dad? Who's this?”

“Oh Rory, is this your son?” She approached, getting very close to Neal and squinting, before she caught herself and stepped back a pace. “Gosh, I'm so sorry! I lost my contacts along with the entire contents of my kayak when I flipped about a quarter mile back, can't see much of anything without them. Didn't mean to get literally in your face though! You must be Neal, I've heard so much about you.” She thrust her hand out at him, and he gingerly shook her hand. 

“Uh... yeah. And you are?”

“Oh! I'm Belle. I'm a friend of your dad's.”

Neal's mouth was in a tight line, clearly holding in a laugh. “Well, pleasure to meet you. Belle. And this is Emma.”

Emma stepped forward, extending her own hand. “Nice to meet you Belle. Any friend of _Rory's_ is a friend of mine.” Gold glared at her off to the side, but Emma only smiled wider. “And how do you two know each other?”

“I'm the librarian in town, and he's the most avid reader in all of Storybrooke, I'd wager. Second only to me.”

“Yeah yeah, of course. Dad... _loves_ books.” Gold was glaring at the ground now instead at anyone in particular, but he'd also turned a lovely shade of red. Emma didn't think she'd ever see Gold _blushing_ , of all things.

Gold cleared his throat. “Well, now that we've all been formally introduced, what seems to be the problem, Belle?” 

“As I mentioned, I'm pretty much blind without my contacts. I tried to make it back to the campsite, but I very quickly realized that was _not_ going to work. I was planning on waiting for Ruby and Dorothy to catch up, but it's been a while and I was starting to give up hope.”

“How'd you get separated, anyway?”

“Well...” Belle blushed, “They wanted to have some... fun. In nature. The kind of fun I didn't much care to stick around for, you understand. But I was kind of hoping they'd be here by now.”

“Well you can come with us! We've got a canoe, won't matter if you can't see. I can get you where you need to go, no problem. Plus we have bottled water, and sunscreen, food if you're hungry--”

“What dad's trying to say is, we're fully stocked and you're welcome to tag along.”

“That's what I said, son.”

“Uh...” Emma raised a hand. “Kayak virgin here.”

Neal pulled Emma aside. “If you'd prefer to stay in the canoe, that's fine. But honestly, kayaks are more fun anyway. You can take dad's kayak, the freakin' unflippable Cadillac of paddle-propelled water vehicles, I'll take Belle's little Malibu Barbie boat that I'm pretty sure will capsize if you look at it wrong. And if you try it, and decide you hate it, then you can swap spots with dad. No problem.”

Emma glanced at Gold and Belle, both looking at her with the most pitifully hopeful expressions that she'd ever seen.

She sighed, “Alright. Let's do this.”

They loaded Gold's supplies into the canoe, Neal squeezed into the small, pink kayak, and Emma slid into Gold's blue monster of a kayak. Neal wasn't kidding, Emma realized. Gold's kayak seemed even more stable than the canoe, and that was something that Emma could definitely appreciate. The double paddle was a little different, but she caught on quickly. She felt a little bad for Neal, who seemed to be trying to find his bearings in the much smaller kayak. It really did look tip-happy, but it was _his_ plan, after all, so she stuck out her tongue at him and paddled out a few meters from the bar, easily looping him several times.

Gold, meanwhile, hadn't yet to lose his blush, and was tentatively applying sunscreen to Belle's back and neck. Belle was holding her hair back and looking rather pleased.

“So...” Emma whispered, and pulled her kayak up beside a still struggling Neal. “What's the deal there?” She motioned with her head toward the shore.

“God, I don't even _know_. A one-sided crush was my first guess, but... well. It doesn't exactly look so one-sided from here. It's funny, though. A _librarian_. I don't think I saw him crack open anything that wasn't a ledger or a law book the entire time growing up. Never woulda pegged him for the librarian type but clearly, I was mistaken.”

Gold was pushing the canoe into the water, while Belle sat holding a paddle, hands folded primly in her lap. 

“This is so strange, blind floating. It's a bit scary, to be honest, but I know you'll keep me safe.” She turned toward Gold, smiling widely.

Gold just grinned back.

Emma shook her head and paddled off, splashing Neal for good measure.

++++++++++

They'd reached a placid stretch of river and decided to pass the scotch around again. Neal had finally gotten the hang of the small kayak and was paddling circles around the group, darting in toward the canoe to get another pull off the bottle then darting off again. Emma stretched her legs out on top of the kayak and trailed her fingers in the water. Belle had turned around in her seat and she and Gold were currently imbibing more than their fair share of the remaining scotch. 

“So,” Belle started, bottle hanging limply from her left hand, the fingers of her right hand tracing the shark pattern on Gold's shirt. “I don't think I've seen you in anything besides a full suit before today.”

“Yes, well,” Gold cleared his throat, “A suit isn't necessarily appropriate river attire, is it?”

“Certainly not. I like it, though. This,” she paused, “toned-down look on you. Wish I could see it more often.” 

“I like your outfit, too. You look--” He cleared his throat yet again, “--very nice. I mean, the outfit. It's nice... looks good on you.” Emma briefly wondered if they were aware how very obvious they were, or if they honestly thought they were being subtle. Either the booze had lowered their inhibitions a bit, or literally everyone in town had to see what was going on.

Belle giggled as they both leaned in closer, and Belle's fingers moved from tracing the shark design to trailing down Gold's chest. “I like this material, it's so _soft_.”

“It's cotton/poly blend!” Neal had finished another rotation and pulled alongside the canoe just in time to hear their conversation, and judging from his smirk he'd been watching them as well. Belle and Gold jumped apart like guilty teenagers, and Neal managed to snag the bottle before it fell.

“Emma and I got it for him for this weekend. He paid for the camp site and the ride to the put-in and all the food, but we figured we had to get him _something_ for the big fiftieth birthday. Sharks seemed appropriate for the Shark of Storybrooke.”

Neal's smirk slowly dropped as his dad looked at him with a horrified expression, while Belle looked at Gold with an almost betrayed look, her arms crossed against her chest, brow furrowed and lips pursed.

Emma wondered what it was that Neal could've said. Was it the shark thing? She didn't think so, because Neal had explained that not only was that a persona that Gold had intentionally cultivated, but it was also well known to everyone in town. Unless he intentionally shielded Belle from it? Or maybe... the age thing? That seemed the most likely culprit actually, judging by both Gold and Belle's reactions. But that was also kind of odd, considering Gold was an alright looking guy, but he definitely looked his age, and Belle didn't seem to have any problem with him before assigning an actual digit to it.

Neal mouthed 'Sorry' to his dad before taking a long draw off the bottle and turning to Emma. 'Help. Me'.

Emma tried to find something to break the awkward silence that had fallen over them, but luckily Belle got there first.

“I can't _believe_ you didn't tell me it was your birthday!”

Gold turned to her, eyes downcast but for the brief glance at her, and folded his hands in his lap. “Yes, well. Sorry.”

Belle turned to Neal. “I've been trying to guess his birthday for almost six months, and I'm almost _positive_ I guessed every day in June.” She grinned at Gold, touching the back of his hand until he looked back up to her. “You were holding out on me. Now I have to think of something to make up for missing it.”

“You don't have to do that.”

“I insist!”

Gold finally cracked a small smile. “Well, if you _insist_.”

Emma breathed a sigh of relief. Neal flung both arms out and mouthed, 'Crisis averted' before tipping over with an undignified squeak. He managed to keep the bottle out of the water with his fingertips, and popped back from under the water with a self-satisfied, “Ha! Saved it!” before draining the rest of scotch.

++++++++++

TBC


End file.
